March is National Pet Poison Prevention Month

March is National Pet Poison Prevention Month. It’s a great time to remember your pets can get into substances they shouldn’t no matter how careful you are as an owner. Be diligent about keeping toxic materials away from animals. The costs both monetary and emotional can be devastating.

I’ve unfortunately had a few incidents with my own dogs eating something they shouldn’t. Isabella decided to eat my Great Dane’s pain meds. What followed was panic, phone calls to our vet, inducement of vomiting, trip to the vet, subcutaneous injections and charcoal. Thankfully Isabella survived to cause trouble another day but this was entirely preventable if I had stored Spencer’s meds elsewhere.

My daughters dog, Ivy, got into a poisonous substance while waiting in their truck for her owners. They had recently purchased Gorilla Glue, which many of us have on hand. After ingestion, it was several trips to the vets, monitoring and many xrays before Ivy was able to vomit the glue up herself. Apparently Gorilla Glue and poly-based glues attract dogs, they actually love the taste. When it hits the dogs stomach, it begins to expand and that can cause some....sticky situations. Happily Ivy is fine and still living her best life but it could have ended very differently.

With the Easter holiday coming up, remember chocolate, especially dark chocolate, is poisonous for dogs. Something that has become quite popular in products lately is Xylitol, which is used as a sweetiner in many products like gum is also a very poisonous item for dogs, as is common pain relievers like ibuprofen and naproxen.

A little common sense and due diligence can go a long way in keeping Fido in the game. Perhaps take a look around your home and vehicles to make sure any hazards are put properly in their place.